Quotable

"War is the greatest threat to public health." - Gino Strada, Italian war surgeon and founder of the UN-recognized Italian NGO Emergency

Thursday, April 14, 2011

U.S. rejects violence "under any circumstances" - REALLY???

Friends,

It's official!!!  Well, sort of official.  Perhaps unofficially official or something like that.  At any rate, The White House quite recently went on record (for whatever that might be worth) that the government of the United States rejects "the use of violence under any circumstances."  You can read the statement in the context of the entire March 24th news release by the White House Press Secretary regarding the violence in Syria. 

Don't you think, now that its on the record, that we should hold our government accountable for that statement???  At very least each of us should be holding ourselves, and the government that is supposed to represent us, "accountable," just as the Press Secretary says that we should hold those accountable for the Syrian violence.

Just what do we stand for as a nation as we consider our current actions around the world - Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya...???

We are ALL responsible for the violence perpetrated on our name! 


Peace,

Leonard

********************
The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 24, 2011

Statement by the Press Secretary on Violence in Syria

The United States strongly condemns the Syrian government’s brutal repression of demonstrations, in particular the violence and killings of civilians at the hands of security forces. We reject the use of violence under any circumstances. We are also deeply troubled by the arbitrary arrests of human rights activists and others. Those responsible for the violence must be held accountable. The United States stands for a set of universal rights, including the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and believes that governments must be responsive to the legitimate aspirations of their people. We call on the Syrian government to exercise restraint and respect the rights of its people and call on all citizens to exercise their rights peacefully.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/24/statement-press-secretary-violence-syria